Thursday, December 07, 2017

A Journey Along a Greenland River

The New York Times wants to take you on a journey down a Greenland river. A journey which helps explain how melting ice sheets can cause a rise in global sea levels. In Greenland Melts, Where's the Water Going? the NYT uses drone photos of Greenland to help explain how meltwater rivers flow through the ice sheets and into the sea.

As you scroll through the story map you are taken on a journey along a Greenland river. On this journey you will experience how meltwater from Greenland's ice collects and drains to form rivers. You will see how these rivers carve a path through the ice sheet and how the rivers eventually drain into the ocean and contribute to rising sea levels.

After you have finished this journey along a Greenland river the New York Times discusses the importance of new research which suggests that the ice sheets retain some of the meltwater from melting ice sheets. This new discovery should help improve climate scientists' understanding of rising sea levels and help to refine our climate models.

You may also like:

Sea Level Rise Viewer - NOAA's interactive map models how different extents of sea level rise will impact coastal areas in the USA up to the year 2100.Rising Seas -
a map which allows you to explore data from 500 sea level meters around the world which have been measuring sea levels since 1933.Shrinking Glaciers Around the World - a collection of maps tracking how glaciers are shrinking across the globe